FACT CHECK: Does This Video Show Donald Trump Getting Caught On A Hot Mic Disparaging His Supporters?
A video shared on Twitter purportedly shows President Donald Trump caught on a hot mic disparaging his supporters.
Holy shit balls! WATCH THIS!!!! Trump was caught on a hot mic talking bad about his own supporters.
“They’re balls deep in their sisters.”
What a deplorable man. Truly. #NobodyLikesTrump pic.twitter.com/m8QbbgSXd1
— Rajiv Singh (@RajivSi86412039) July 30, 2020
Verdict: False
The video was created by a parody Twitter account, not Project Veritas. It combines footage of Trump touring a facility with audio of a podcaster impersonating Trump.
Fact Check:
The video shows Trump wearing a mask in what appears to be a medical laboratory. In a banner at the bottom of the video, it says “Trump off the record,” along with the link to the conservative watchdog group Project Veritas website.
“I can’t say ‘health reasons,’ these people don’t care about their health,” Trump is allegedly caught on hot mic saying. “So you have to say ‘patriotism,’ so I say ‘patriotism,’ and hopefully some of them wear the mask. I don’t really care as long as they’re here to vote. So I have to say ‘be a patriot.’ That’s motivating these animals, OK? The people I call ‘the hills have eyes’ people.”
Social media users widely shared the video as if it was genuine, despite it not appearing on Project Veritas’ website. It was actually created by a parody Twitter account, according to The Associated Press.
The Twitter account Parodia News Network, which notes it is satirical in its bio, paired video of Trump touring on July 27 the FUJIFILM Diosynth Biotechnologies Innovation Center in Morrisville, North Carolina, with audio that belongs to comedian J.L. Calvin, according to CBS affiliate WUSA. Parodia News Network tweeted the edited video on July 29.
Calvin confirmed to The Associated Press that the audio comes from an episode of his podcast “Making Podcasts Great Again.” In the episode “3 Champions of Rights,” Calvin can be heard making the crude remarks in an impersonation of Trump at the roughly 22-minute, 46-seconds mark.
The footage appears to come from either CBS affiliate WNCN-TV or Fox Business. In those videos, Trump does not appear to speak much as he tours the FUJIFILM facility. (RELATED: Does Wearing A Face Mask For 8 Hours Cause Pleurisy?)
The production of the first batch of a coronavirus vaccine candidate developed by the Maryland-based Novavax has begun at that facility, according to the Washington Business Journal.
